I have three odd "vanity" addictions. Steel-boned Corsets (I am very into costumes and science fiction conventions), Kangaroo Leather show leads, and show suits. I shop three main companies, mainly because of their fair prices and sales. It is my opinion that a company such as the one you mentioned wouldn't gain the same level of customer loyalty as a company that offered their customers deals and discounts.

I am particularly into eBay for buying clothes. I have two suits that are priced at over $250, that I bought through eBay for under $40. Why would I pay full price for that, when I can find it somewhere cheaper? Yeah, they're nice suits, but nice enough for me to spend $250 on? No way.. LOL!

Kangaroo leads are one thing I won't skimp on. I bought one for around $50, that was OK but wore out pretty fast. The one I bought for $77 is still great and it was totally custom designed.

Generally, I feel like if you feel like its worth paying for, go ahead, but for me- finding something on sale makes me more likely to buy it, so thats more money in the seller's pocket.

For dog stuff and most items absolutely not. You shouldn't be purchasing things like that just because it's expensive/seemingly inaccessible to a larger market but based on it's suitability for your/your pet's needs.

I have a friend that once ordered a very expensive outfit from Chanel (in the six figure range) for a big event back in Asia. She told them so - and Chanel made sure that outfit was the ONLY one of it's kind sold in North America and Asia, save for the sample to be lent out to magazines etc for photoshoots.

So for super luxury items like that - No, I wouldn't want to see other people traipsing about town in the same thing I paid a huge fortune for. But otherwise I'm all for sales =D

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LMAO. It's a DOG COLLAR, FFS. It's not like what you had was formerly high fashion but because it went on sale, now it's walmart clearance bin material. The price doesn't raise or lower the quality of the item. I can understand things like the above post, ordering something one of a kind from Chanel and wanting it to stay one of a kind. But buying a dog collar and then getting mad because it goes on sale and other, poorer, less fashionable dogs might be seen wearing YOUR dog's collar? GASP.

I'm a poor person. Sales are the only way I'll buy certain items like expensive dog collars!

For dog stuff and most items absolutely not. You shouldn't be purchasing things like that just because it's expensive/seemingly inaccessible to a larger market but based on it's suitability for your/your pet's needs.

I have a friend that once ordered a very expensive outfit from Chanel (in the six figure range) for a big event back in Asia. She told them so - and Chanel made sure that outfit was the ONLY one of it's kind sold in North America and Asia, save for the sample to be lent out to magazines etc for photoshoots.

So for super luxury items like that - No, I wouldn't want to see other people traipsing about town in the same thing I paid a huge fortune for. But otherwise I'm all for sales =D

Something like that makes sense. It's a super expensive one of a kind item that was specifically made for someone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RD

LMAO. It's a DOG COLLAR, FFS. It's not like what you had was formerly high fashion but because it went on sale, now it's walmart clearance bin material. The price doesn't raise or lower the quality of the item. I can understand things like the above post, ordering something one of a kind from Chanel and wanting it to stay one of a kind. But buying a dog collar and then getting mad because it goes on sale and other, poorer, less fashionable dogs might be seen wearing YOUR dog's collar? GASP.

I'm a poor person. Sales are the only way I'll buy certain items like expensive dog collars!

The funny thing is, the collar company in the example (Paco, if anyone hasn't caught that!) wants EVERYONE to be able to have one of their collars. They even say so on their website! If you're local, you can go into their shop and "work" for a collar. You can even barter with them if you aren't local.

No matter how much money you make, I feel as if you're shooting yourself in the foot by not taking advantage of sales. WHY wouldn't you want to get a discount on something you're planning on buying anyway? It just really blows my mind!

I think JC Penny is struggling big time because they've never been seen as a luxury company. Companies that are appealing to the middle class and below have to appeal to bargain hunting consumers, for whom saving $10 is important.

Compare that to a company like Apple--their products basically never go on sale. Even when they do, the sales are like "Buy an ipod, receive a $20 itunes gift card!" or "Save $30 on this $2000 computer!" They've built a huge empire on being trendy and desirable, and while I will personally never buy an apple product when I can buy an equivalent item from another company for 1/2 price (or less), millions of people do. Apple has marketed themselves as a luxury brand.

Actually, they're very similar to the under armor example I posted before. Both of them make stuff that other companies make. Under Armor's shirts are really no different than Nike's. But by never going on sale, UA can maintain an image of superiority.

All that being said, as a consumer, I love sales. I don't know why a retail shopper wouldn't want to pay less money if possible. But I can totally understand why brands and companies chose not to go on sale, for exactly the reason your friend was trying to iterate--it breeds exclusivity and trendiness.

I think JC Penny is struggling big time because they've never been seen as a luxury company. Companies that are appealing to the middle class and below have to appeal to bargain hunting consumers, for whom saving $10 is important.

Compare that to a company like Apple--their products basically never go on sale. Even when they do, the sales are like "Buy an ipod, receive a $20 itunes gift card!" or "Save $30 on this $2000 computer!" They've built a huge empire on being trendy and desirable, and while I will personally never buy an apple product when I can buy an equivalent item from another company for 1/2 price (or less), millions of people do. Apple has marketed themselves as a luxury brand.

Actually, they're very similar to the under armor example I posted before. Both of them make stuff that other companies make. Under Armor's shirts are really no different than Nike's. But by never going on sale, UA can maintain an image of superiority.

All that being said, as a consumer, I love sales. I don't know why a retail shopper wouldn't want to pay less money if possible. But I can totally understand why brands and companies chose not to go on sale, for exactly the reason your friend was trying to iterate--it breeds exclusivity and trendiness.

When I was in middle school and high school, I really loved Abercrombie and Fitch. Their stuff was always expensive, and they didn't have sales. If you wanted jeans, you spent $80. Wanted a polo? There was nothing under $40.

When the economy crashed, so did their prices. Walk into an Abercrombie now, and you can walk out with jeans for $30 and tank tops for less than $10. They've had to get rid of that "no sales" mentality in order to stay in business. Not too many people were willing to spend $40 on a tanktop when they could go to American Eagle and get one for $20.

Apple is... different. To me, there are no comparable products on the market. I have an iPod, an iPhone, a MacBook, and an iPad. I like how well they work, and to me, it's worth it to pay full price for their quality and customer service. How many companies are willing to do a full recall on a 5 year old product?

If I liked PCs, I would shop around for the "best deal," as there are so many similar products on the market. However, I feel that Apple doesn't compare with HP, Dell, etc... Apple products just work so well for me.

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When I was in middle school and high school, I really loved Abercrombie and Fitch. Their stuff was always expensive, and they didn't have sales. If you wanted jeans, you spent $80. Wanted a polo? There was nothing under $40.

When the economy crashed, so did their prices. Walk into an Abercrombie now, and you can walk out with jeans for $30 and tank tops for less than $10. They've had to get rid of that "no sales" mentality in order to stay in business. Not too many people were willing to spend $40 on a tanktop when they could go to American Eagle and get one for $20.

Apple is... different. To me, there are no comparable products on the market. I have an iPod, an iPhone, a MacBook, and an iPad. I like how well they work, and to me, it's worth it to pay full price for their quality and customer service. How many companies are willing to do a full recall on a 5 year old product?

If I liked PCs, I would shop around for the "best deal," as there are so many similar products on the market. However, I feel that Apple doesn't compare with HP, Dell, etc... Apple products just work so well for me.

Abercrombie's always had sales though. I know, because when I was 13 I desperately wanted an A&F shirt, and found a few of them for under $20. They've definitely changed a LOT over the years though. I remember looking on ebay for abercrombie clothing when I was a kid, and seeing these awful plaid shirts and hideous sweaters marketed towards 45 year olds. They're a constantly evolving company trying to re-evaluate their niche. I don't think they are trying to be exclusive at all anymore. Out of necessity, probably--I didn't see my middle schoolers wear any A&F clothes this year, and the store closest to me just closed down.

Look at a truly upscale company for adults. Burberry? (I don't even know, it's not my budget). I guarantee you Burberry didn't drop their prices, even with the recession. Their clients would stop shopping there if it became "common". They'd have a short climb in revenue while all the normal people latched on to having something that used to be exclusive, and then it would no longer be popular.

Apple might be different to you, but the bottom line is their computers do the same things as a $400 PC does, just for 3-5x the price. It might look/feel a little different, but every computer has word processing, connects to the internet, edits photos, etc. You might think it's worth it, and that's fine--but the reality is that there are other products that would be just as effective for you to accomplish the tasks you need to accomplish. They've managed to sell people on the idea that they're different enough to justify the $1000 difference in price tag, the same way Burberry convinces people that their product is $1000 better than the coat you'd find in Macy's. For some, it is. For enough, it seems to be. That's a successful marketing strategy.

In business school we studied oodles of case studies on companies and their strategies. It is a very well known strategy to attempt to create an air of exclusivity by never allowing your products to drop below a certain price threshold. Apple was the big player in that field while I was in college, so their name came up a lot.